>> and i'm surae chinn, mike is off today. angie will have timesaver traffic in a moment. but olga breese in for howard bernstein. >> july fourth weekend is deft heating up. right now we're starting to really warm up today's temperatures is going to be warmer than yesterday. you'll notice the difference, humidity wise, we're okay, but at least into the upper range 80s by later on this afternoon for the temperatures. right now upper 60s and lower 70s. by the 9:00 hour, we'll push the middle 80s and even get the -- 70s and even get the 80s later on today. a passing cloud from time to time, but in all it's going to feel pretty good with the late day hours. for the forecast long-term though, we will have a bit of a warmup going on into the sunday and monday forecast. back to you. okay. let's take a look at what's going on with traffic. we've got the green light on. that's how we like to start our 6:00 hour. let's get started right now and take a hook at our maps -- look at our maps. moving light along, down to 95

and show you what's going on headed northbound. or i can just go ahead and tell you that everything is clear from the prince william parkway to the mixing bowl outside live. that's a clear example of it near the route 123 exit. back over to the maps, we're going to take you over to 66. show you a closer look and notice we have nothing but green cars on there. that's what we like to see at this time of hour. looks like people are already getting is jump-start to the vacation headed eastbound no problems out of haymarket to manassas to inside the beltway. as for travel times really quick, want to show you -- stale ahead -- still ahead, we have a report for you beach drivers out there, that's coming up at 6:11. over to you. let's get to some of the stories happening today. president obama leaves town for camp david this afternoon. he'll spend the fourth of july weekend there with his family. the president will meet with senior advisers this morning

before leaving. dr. joshua star officially takes over as superintendent of montgomery county public schools. he arrives in rossville after leading schools in stanford, connecticut and he takes over for dr. jerry wiest. the red light cameras in the city of fairfax, virginia get turned on today. there are two of them. one at fairfax circle, the other at university drive and north street. you will get a warning from now until july 31st. after that a $50 fine. this morning, police in hyattsville, maryland are investigating their first homicide of the year. >> a man was stabbed to death in a fight and four other people were hurt. >> this happened at the university town circle. lindsey mastis is there live with the latest. >> reporter: supposed to be a nice night out. it happened around 6:30 right down here at the theater. police say two groups of young people and teens got into a fight.

now basically a man in his 20s was stabbed to death. four others were also stabbed. they're in the hospital. prince george's county is doing the investigating because hyattsville doesn't have a homicide division. >> officers discovered two groups of individuals were fighting. one of the suspects pulled out a knife and the victim received trauma to the upper body. he was transported to the -- hospital, a local area hospital, and a short time later he was pronounced deceased. >> reporter: now police have not released any details about the suspects, it's still very early in their investigation. back to you. >> lindsey mastis live this morning. a d. c. police officer is recovering this morning after being hit by a speeding car. the officer was hit late last night on massachusetts avenue on southeast. a driver first hit a parked car then he struck the officer who was on foot. the driver of the parked car, the suspect and the officer were all taken to the hospital and treated for serious injuries.

the man who was driving the speeding car faces several traffic charges. well, just like a lot of us regular people, the u.s. senate will be working next week. lawmakers will be back in session to work on raising the debt ceiling. the senate voted yesterday to forego its recess and get to work tuesday. that doesn't mean lawmakers are any closer to a deal. republicans want to cut spending, democrats say tax hikes are needed as well. uncle sam will hit his borrowing limit august 2nd. the parking light told par -- president told both parties to reach a deal. >> we also knew that at each and every juncture in our history when our future was on the line. >> that's president obama getting heckled at a democratic fundraiser last night in philadelphia. they were calling for more aids research funding. at 6:05 right now. new developments in the case of dominique strauss-kahn. he's the former head of the imf who's facing rape charges. he'll go back to court today as there are new cracks in the

case against him. terrell brown reports prosecutors are now doubting the story of his accuser. >> reporter: dominique strauss- kahn could have his bail reduce record even lifted today because of possible issues with his accuser's credibility. the former international monetary fund chief was arrested back this may on charges he tried the rape a hotel maid. prosecutors initially stood by the woman's story, but now the "new york times" reports she has been caught in a series of lies around the case. they suspect she may have been involved in drug dealing and money laundering. she had a conversation discussing the benefits of pursuing charges against strauss-kahn. he saw his political and financial career crumble after his arrest. he pleaded not guilty in court last month. forensic evidence confirm there was a sexual encounter but defense attorneys have always insisted it was consensual.

>> once the evidence is reviewed it will be clear there was no element of forcible compulsion in this case whatsoever. >> reporter: after posting a $6 million bail, strauss-kahn was confined the house arrest. but after today's hearing he could be released. in new york, terrell brown, 9news now. 6:06, jessica is off today, but we are still watching your money. the man who watches all of our money says he'll be staying put for quote the foreseeable future. treasury secretary timothy geithner is trying to squash speculation he might leave the obama administration. geithner might leave after negotiations to raise the debt ceiling was reported by a newspaper. the list of the most expensive colleges is out and bates college in maine is the tops. a year there is $51,300.

gw comes in at number nine. well, as any woman who's done it will tell you, being a bridesmaid isn't cheap. on average a woman will spend $1,695 to be a bridesmaid. weddingchannel.com reports that includes the dress, travel, the hotel and everything else. one etiquette expert reminds you never go into debt for a friend's wedding and even the guys are weighing in on this one. they rent tuxes and still have to pay for the tux, the hotel, getting this and as one said, i still have to buy a gift. >> it definitely adds up. right? >> have you ever been a bridesmaid? >> twice, i never spent that much. >> never been a bridesmaid and i had to pay for the gifts and that was it. do you buy the gifts for the shower and the wedding or one or the other? >> more gifts never hurts right? >> if you're the recipient. always the way. it's 6:08 right now. on this friday morning, here's a lack at what's come -- look

at what's still ahead. leslie johnson pleads guilty to destroying evidence. we'll talk with glen ivy about what comes next. at 6:47. the taste of this year's smithsonian festival. we'll be joined live by the stacks music academy band from memphis. unnext though the friday forecast, your weather first when 9news now returns. what makes the sleep number store different? you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you want a firm bed you can lay on one of those, if you want a soft bed you can lay on one of those." we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. this is your body there. you can see a little more pressure in the shoulders and in the hips. then they start telling us, "well, yeah, i feel sore right there in the morning." my lower back.

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it's now 6:10 on this sunny friday morning. and our day planner is looking

pretty good. we'll feature plenty of sunshine throughout the day today and really warm things up. 9:00 hour moving in through the 70s and 80s by noon and most of us should top out at the middle 80s by this afternoon. passing cloud from time to time. but humidity values remain low with the winds. going to be very comfortable today and even tomorrow. but you'll notice more heat in the weekend and very hot for the fourth of july. now a look at the roads. all right, thank you olga. we are tracking 50 headed eastbound to the bay bridge. no delays for you. those of you who are luckily beach bound. no problems as you can see here approaching the toll plaza. still ahead, more maryland roads for you come -- roads for you coming up at 6:18. now over to you. this morning the state of minnesota is closed for business. the governor and legislators failed to reach a budget deal and the shutdown begins. it's making news now. republicans and democrats in minnesota couldn't agree on how to close a $5 billion deficit

over the next two years so it will close state parks over the holiday weekend and it is the second government shutdown in minnesota in six years. japan is turning the lights down. the government began imposing major energy restrictions due to the ongoing nuclear crisis there. the goal is to reduce the electricity usage by 15% compared to a year ago. cheers for william and kate in ottawa. they began with a trip to the canadian capital and spend another week in canada before a trip to los angeles and lots of interest in the u.s.. surae? prince george's county councilwoman leslie johnson will stay on the council until she heads to prison. she pleaded thursday for conspiracy to commit witness and evidence tampering. she spoke to the public after entering her plea. listen in. >> i made a mistake. for which i today accepted

responsibility for my conduct. >> the plea was part of a pay for play bribery scheme in the county. her husband, former county exec jack johnson pleaded guilty earlier this creek. with more on this case and what will happen next. we're joined by glen ivy, he is the former state's attorney for prince george's county. welcome. >> thank you for having me. >> you as attorney, this is a really disgraceful mistrust of the people. did leslie johnson really have a choice but to plead with all the evidence stacked against her? >> i this i the plead made sense -- think the plea made sense for her. there's really strong evidence against her especially the audiotape where she's discussing of disposing on evidence with her husband. she could have gone to trial. but by pleading guilty she gets the benefit of accepting responsibility and makes it likely she'll get a better sentence from the judge. >> revealing her role in all of

this and she faces 12 to 18 months behind bars. do you think the judge will follow those guidelines, higher or lower or does she get off with probation? >> no, i don't think she'll get off with probation. typically judges in federal court do follow the sentencing guidelines. it's not mandatory, but usually they do and the judge is a relatively you know, tough but fair judge. i would assume she's going to get some sort of jail time out of there and i wouldn't be surprised if it's within the guidelines right now. >> so let's talk about the sense of the u.s. attorney talking about local leaders need to be a role model and they have an obligation to have honest government from the people who elected them. so talk about being that role -- setting that tone of honest government in the county. >> well, clearly it's been a challenge. you know, with respect to this issue. i think you know, the new

county executive has come in, mr. baker's been kind of overshadowed by a lot of these events. made it difficult for him to have a smooth transition. but i think he's going to move forward. i think the community is ready for that and eager for that frankly. and we're going to continue to move in the right direction. >> 15 arrested. 13 already pleaded guilty. do you believe that this is even a wider scheme that not everyone has been cast in this net? >> i don't know. i mean, i think the u.s. attorney has talked about the tip of the iceberg at least back in november. that was the way he announced it at the press conference. how much further it's going to go, i'm not sure. but i am confident that mr. baker is going to be able to move forward and continue to build out the government so they can see and keep the county moving in the right direction. >> when you were in office, any inkling of this at all? >> no, frankly i was shocked when i heard about all the stuff. i'm certainly glad they were able to break the case and

bring this to -- bring these folks to justice because it was very damaging to the county and i'm glad they have accepted responsibility for what they've done. >> glen ivy, thank you so much. andrea? i'm here with olga breese, she's in for howard bernstein. right to the day's forecast and holiday ahead. >> holiday is looking good. no pressure on this important holiday forecast. starting off this morning with very cool conditions. the northwest breezes working in our favor for the last several days. humidity values continue to stay low. today and tomorrow. but as we go through the next couple of days you will notice as we dial up the heat it starts to feel more like a typical summertime pattern here in the nation's capital. for today though. i think we get another treat coming our way. 73 degrees by the 9:00 hour for reagan national airport. wind mainly out of the north at 6 miles per hour.

the lower 80s through midday and late day and even upper 80s by the 5:00 hour. there can be a passing cloud from time to time. but just the fair weather clouds and it's not going to bring us any rain chances or any significant moisture. go out and enjoy. the forecast overall features high pressure and that's where we'll quiet here on the satellite and radar from space. not much happening over the d. c. area, just a little bit of the morning fog in a few locations but notice as things move on out, we just sort of rotate around that high pressure dome and that's going to keep us in the clear through most of the day today and even into tomorrow. we'll start off with mostly sunny skies and then pull in just a few clouds later on in the afternoon. here's how your forecast breaks down over the next several days. what you need to know as you're heading out the door this morning. today's forecast is going to be hotter than yesterday. most of us are going to get into the middle range 80s to upper 80s but the humidity we get a bit of a break. tomorrow, hotter still. we've moved back into the 90s with our typical pattern, but at least the humidity stays down for tomorrow and then we

shift the winds on sunday into that south southwesterly flow and that's going to dial up the heat this weekend. pushing the middle range even some of the upper 90s are possible in a few locations. i can't rule out the opportunity with partly cloudy skies for sunday and monday of a shower or thunderstorm creeping into the forecast as well. quiet for our future track cast -- forecast model. mainly sunny skies throughout. but the possibility of that stray shower late in the day on your sunday and even our fourth of july monday. here's how we look overall. we will have our forecast moving on into the 80s for today and looking good at the beaches as well. but as far as the long-term forecast goes, well, out of the 80s into the 90s and headed for the middle range 90s as we head toward the end of the week. angie? all right, thank you so much. right now it is 6:18 and we are tracking your outer loop and your capital beltway and roads across the region and the green light stays on because there's no major problems to tell you about. from 95 to 270. notice the green cars, we're

finding drivers outside, they are moving at speed as we go live to our cameras. we are noticing a lot of sun early already and it's quite bright. so you're going to want to bring the sun shades the morning because sun glare is going to play a factor in the commute. the fort washington and the clinton brandy wine areas. this area has been great all morning long. hope it stays that way. lets move it over to the travel times -- still ahead, a look at 395 in my next traffic report. over to you. it is 6:19. if you had knee reign over nationals partial for just one night, how would you use it? we'll see what ryan zimmerman did last night. right now it's the question of the morning --

>> now you have been giving your thoughts on the facebook page. mohammed writes -- the answer is c.. >> all right. keep leaving your answers at facebook.com/wusa9. we'll have the answer at 6:57. [ male announcer ] using frontline plus

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it is 6:23. i'm olga breese in for howard bernstein and we have a great start on this glorious friday morning. our temperatures bottomed out into the 60s and even low 70s at this hour across the region. keep moving on up. sunny skies through the day. out of the 70s into the 80s by the lunch break and 89 degrees at reagan national airport expected today and then things

will warp up into the four day weekend. in sports two of america's four major sports are now in lockout. the nba has joined the nfl beginning its lockout at midnight. >> well, that's when the collect i have bargaining -- collective bargaining agreement ended and both sides are very far apart. the major issues, the salaries, salary cap, revenue sharing and the rookie draft. the last time there was a lockout in the in the bah was the -- nba was the 1998 season and that cost nearly half the seasonal. the nationals are at home tonight and begin an 11 game home stand with the pittsburgh pirates coming to town. they'll be without jerry hairston jr. for a while. he suffered a broken wrist wednesday. he's expected to go on the dl for about two to four weeks. and ryan zimmerman used nationals' park last night for a major fundraiser. the night at the park benefited

his zims foundation which raises money for multiple sclerosis. his mother lives with ms. he gets one night a year the use the ballpark any way he want s and this is how he chose to use it. good son. it's 6:25. still to come, good news in arlington where the move to save a local planetarium is up. getting ready to hit the road for the fourth of july? we'll have a check on gas prices for our region and some popular destinations. right now angie with a quick check on the holiday traffic. >> that i do and everything is looking okay as drivers are going to the beast. but we're looking at 90 over to seminary. the district roads up ahead in my next traffic report. keep it here on 9news now.

it is 6:29. this is the place you always get your weather first. here's a live lack at the ocean city -- look at the ocean city, maryland boardwalk. you can see they're going to have a really nice day today there today. 64 degrees right now and i love going for a bike ride along the boardwalk, it's so much fun. >> what do you think of? >> fries and vinegar. >> okay. >> i any they have the best.

they do. >> then there's the place where you can get all the hot sauces you know me. yeah. all right, where are we talking food? thank you for starting your day with us. >> i'm surae chinn in for mike hydeck. and howard -- >> he was here. >> i'm andrea roane, angie will have traffic in a moment. but first olga breese right to the friday forecast. a hot day today. very much warming up today. little bit warmer than what we saw yesterday. our day planisher going to get us right to it. we'll get out of the 70s at national airport right now. we're going to keep moving on up into the lower 80s through midday and the afternoon. expecting temperatures by the 6:00 hour and then we'll begin to back it down just a little bit. if you're just getting up and getting out maybe you have to get the paper or walk the dog this morning, you'll feet a little bit of coolness in the air. highs are going to be quite high especial hi great falls, about 88 degrees, 89 through

bethesda and gaithersburg area. now time for the timesaver traffic. right now the time is halfway through the 6:00 hour. the green light stays on. that's good news for us as we take a closer look at the district drive. we're going to do a little camera tour here and first start with northwest d. c.. a very lonely road here near canal and fox hall. not much going on. to northeast d. c. where sun glare is going to be a factor. we're looking at inbound new york avenue but overall still moving well to the third street tunnel and finally smooth sailing for those of you who use pennsylvania avenue by the bridge. train report reveals everyone is running on time. no delays to report. and great news there. still ahead, a look around the region. that's coming up at 6:45. a lot of you are getting ready to leave town for the holiday weekend. more than 750,000 people will hit the road.

>> and some good news for you, gas prices in our region are finally starting to make their way down. triple a says regular grade gas in the met owe area averaging $3.60 a gallon. that's down eight cents from a week ago and down 25 cents from a month ago. however, this time last year, we were paying $2.72 a gallon and griping about that. >> yeah, here's a check on gas prices elsewhere this morning -- on the jersey shore, it's $3.55, which is better and hitting virginia beach, gas is $3.43 while in pittsburgh, the average is $3.59 a gallon. crossing the bay bridge, well, this may be the best time. the maryland transportation authority says the best times to cross today are before 10:00 a.m. and after 10:00 p.m. tomorrow, try to get there before 7:00 a.m. and sunday, your best time is before 11:00 a.m. >> some good news for people driving northbound on 95. those high speed easy pass lanes are finally open in

delaware. stick to the left to use them and the work to build the lanes causes 10-mile long backups last thanksgiving. >> so made a difference. absolutely. before you hit the roads, head to wusa9.com on our traffic page, get live traffic cameras from across the region and learn about gas prices in our pain at the pump section. unfortunately the start of the holiday weekend is marched by violence -- marred by violence in hyattsville, maryland. >> a brawl near a movie theater that left four other people hurt and one dead. >> it all happened last night at the university town center just off route 410. lindsey mastis is there to tell us what happened. good morning lindsey. >> reporter: good morning. it happened right down the street here. this is america boulevard in the university town center. this is the first homicide of the year for hyattsville. police say there were two groups of young people and teens that got into a fight. they have not released any information yet about the suspects.

>> one of the suspects pulled out a knife and the victim received trauma to the upper body. he was transported to the hospital, a local area hospital, and a short time litters he was pronounced deceased. >> reporter: they have handed case over prince george's county homicide unit. because hyattsville doesn't have their own homicide unit. reporting live, andrea, back to you. >> thank you very much, lindsey mastis in hyattsville, maryland this morning. two young boys are learning grown up consequences of firearms after one of them accidentally shot his 4-year- old neighbor. this all happened in the hill crest heights section of prince george's county yesterday evening. a 5-year-old boy was playing with another boy at a playground on 23rd parkway when the gun went off. >> yeah, i was just shaking. i was a little upset. more so but that's it. i'm still shaking. >> the victim's injuries are said to be serious but he is expected to survive. police are trying to determine how the 5-year-old got the gun

and who owns it. a d. c. police officer accused of killing a woman while leving her daughter in a hot car is due in court today. 41-year-old richmond phillips faces charges in the murder of 20-year-old wynetta wright and manslaughter counts in the death of her baby girl. wright had filed a paternity case and she disappeared the night before the hearing in the case. they were found june 2nd. july 1st means new laws are in ifelt on both sides of the potomac. in maryland, alcohol is now more expensive. the sales tax on alcoholic beverages jumped 50% but wine lovers rejoice in this -- wineries can now ship directly to residents. restaurants with outdoor dining can treat dog owning patrons as long as they provide written notice to the health department. and in virginia, victims in abusive relationships now have more protection from the

courts. previously only family members or those being stalked receivedprotective orders. starting today those who farm here in a dating or workplace relationship can also get protection. and restaurant patrons can now bring their own bottle of wine to establishments. new this morning the arlington planetarium has been saved. the friends of the planetarium announced on its website it has raised enough money to keep the facility open. the conty wanted to -- county wanted to close it in order to save money, but the group raised more than $400,000 including an anonymous donation for more than $50,000. read more about the effort to keep it open by visiting wusa9.com's where you live section and it's on the arlington page. 6:36. highs will be around 90 dodd but the humidity will stay low for now. up next your holiday weekend forecast. and now here's a life look at southbound 95 in dumfries,

virginia. now is a good time to head south. angie's next timesaver traffic report is just seven minutes away. and the stacks music academy band traveled all the way from memphis, tennessee to our weather terrace. they're playing at the smithsonian folk life festival. we'll be talking all about that when 9news now returns. ♪ beth!

hi. looking good! you've lost some weight. thanks! you noticed! you know these clothes are too big now,

so i'm donating them. not going back there again. good for you! how'd you do it? eating right, whole grain. whole grain? whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't... multigrain cheerios has five whole grains and 110 lightly sweetened calories per serving... more grains. less you! multigrain cheerios. welcome back to 9news now. 6:41. friday morning, howard bernstein is off today. but olga breese is here and she has the forecast. >> just breezed in to give you a good forecast at least for the holiday weekend. we're going to keep it very, very warm. temperatures this morning,

quite nice. most of us are sitting in the upper 60s just close to 70 degrees, but you notice humidity values are quite reasonable. the day planner on the cool side to start out. little bit refreshing, get the breeze stepping out the door this morning and getting on your way. but in no time we will heat up. that's keeping cooler drier air in place although we have the sunshine to heat us up later on this afternoon. moving into the 80s by lunchtime. noon, feature winds turning slightly but still mainly out of the north and northwest. but by the afternoon definitely a warmup on the way. the daytime heats kicks in and the middle range and push the upper 80s by the 6:00 hour and then back it down a little bit later on this evening. should be a great way to wrap up the week, a very hot day today. but again humidity is going to be quite reasonable. things change on your saturday. we'll keep the temperatures warm earl still and -- warmer

still and move back into the 90s. but at least the humidity is going to stay low for the short term. that will brings in those mugness. the south-southwest winds and crank up the heat into the middle range 90s throughout the weekend and even heat index values much higher than that closer to the triple digits with isolated thunderstorm chances possible on sunday and monday. right now at the airport, 69 degrees and winds fairly light out of the north about 5 miles per hour on average. and our futurecast forecast model. throughout the day today. lots of sunshine and even into tonight, cool it down into the 60s with fairly light winds. the forecast for tomorrow, though, mainly sunny skies on saturday morning and it will be great the start. but we'll pull in a couple of clouds late on saturday afternoon. here are the highs for today. 89 expected for frederick and for the city center. but down toward the river region, well, a little bit

cooler with the breezes coming offshore only into the upper range 80s. as for the rest of the forecast, looking fairly cool tonight once again. we're back down into the 60s for most of the metro area and could see a few of the upper 50s off to the north and forward our west. this -- toward our west. this is the weekend to hit the beach and the forecast is definitely cooperating if you're headed out to ocean city, you saw that view from the boardwalk earlier, it's going to be sunny and 85 degrees for today. and even adds we get into -- as we get into tomorrow, slight rain chance late in the day. but at least the forecast stays pretty warm into the 80s. seven day forecast is looking pretty good the next three days are absolutely great as we head into the middle 90s by sunday. then an isolated shower chance late in the day on your tuesday fourth of july. we will be quite nice and dry for the fourth of july fireworks that is and then we settle down into the middle and lower range 90s into the next workweek. angie? all right, thank you very much olga. just about 15 minutes away from the start of the 7:00 hour.

still managed the keep the green light on. telling us that we have no major incidents or accidents to tell you about. we're going to take a brief camera tour here for you. 95 northbound watching the volume building between the prince william parkway over to lornton. already bumper to bumper here. basically from ed sell to seminary. you're okay after the beltway and then getting to the 14th street bridge, you have a couple of brakes along the way to that point. over to 66, the delay is mostly around 50. sun glare is a factor for the commute. 270 drivers no incidents to report. overall looking good to the split. slow way before that from 80109 80 to 109. if you leave right now to the beach, pretty much nothing. lanes wide open to the toll plaza. still ahead the top traffic

stories, that's coming up at 6:58. ♪ some live music this morning from the stax music academy band. they're visiting washington from memphis, tennessee and they'll be performing at the smithsonian soul life festival. ♪ we'll hear more from them in just a moment. but first we want to get more information about this year's folk life festival. joining me this morning is becky from the smithsonian institution. >> thanks for having us. >> we know people are hitting the road, but a lot of people are planning staycations and the mall and folk folk life festival allots a great destination. >> we're doing a program on columbia, the peace corps and the rhythm and blues. >> what will people see to tell

them more about it? >> on the mall, a lot of craft demonstrations. people making baskets and weaving. a lot of different concerts, the r&b program has a lot of different musical groups. swamp dog is here, we've got sunny tell and the orioles, the kids from the stax music academy. a lot of great music from all three programs. narrative sessions where people can hear people telling stories describing what they do. so a little bit of something for everyone. >> it starts this weekend in fact starts today. >> we actually started yesterday. >> yesterday. >> and runs through july 4th and then we're off for two days and then we're running july 7th through the 11th. >> how many people do you have coming to the festival over the two day weekend? >> we get about a million visitors a year through the course of the 10 days of the festival. definitely busiest on the weekends and on the fourth of july. >> now, it is going to be a very hot fourth of july weekend. and who knows about the rest of

july? any precautions that the smithsonian takes for the performance who will be there, some in period costumes or ethnic costumes that can be heavy in this hot weather or even advice for the people who will be going. >> we definitely advise them to make sure to drink lots of water and you can wear light loose fitting clothes. all of the tents have fans underneath of them. they're in the shade. so we recommend get inside, our marketplace tent we've got some great crafts for sale. from the participants who are there is air conditioned and stop on in. you can make a purchase to help support the festival and get out of the heat for a little while. we have water all over the mall. we have a first aid tent on the mall. but take it easy and sit down listen to some music and you should be okay. >> these people looking happy from last night or weeks past. how early do you start preparing for the festival ahead? would you start now or on the 12th of july? >> well, the programs are usually a couple of years in

the works. >> a couple of year . >> there's a lot of research that goes into them. a lot of field work in the country or in the region. so we're already working several years out at this point. >> all right. well, you've done well in the past and we look forward to this year and the years ahead. our time right now 6:49. more from the stax music academy band from memphis, check them out this morning at 11:00 at the smithsonian folk life festival. ♪ i would surely, surely lose a lot, because your love is better ♪ ♪ than any love i know, ooh, it's like, thunder, lightning, the way you love me is frightening ♪ ♪ i think i better knock on wood, baby ♪

and our forecast looks good today. we are sitting at 59 degrees at dulles international airport. here with your united airlines travel forecast. visibility is good and winds are calm. but lots of sunshine today. especially if you are taking off and heading out, should be a great day for flying even heading on into chicagoland, a few late day showers and thunderstorms possible. but temperatures really warming up. 96 degrees the expected high. then to the west, denver should top out about 86 degrees with mostly sunny skies. and down in the desert southwest up to the three triple digit temperatures with los angeles, 66 degrees and upper northwest stays comfortably in the 70s.

and our morning forecast is shaping up nicely. temperatures already moving into the lower 70s and the day planner features a warmup on the way. we'll push out of th70s by the lower 80s by lunch. maybe a fair weather cloud or two late in the tea. heat and humidity on the way. today is friday, july 1st. here's a check on the news before you go. police in hyattsville, maryland are investigating a deadly stabbing. it happened at the university town center last night. one person died and four others were hurt. police are still trying to figure out who did the stabbing and why. police in falls church, virginia are looking for a person of interest in these car fires. three cars were torched early

yesterday morning. along george c. marshal drive. no one was hurt. but the cars are a total loss. scary moments for 16 people visiting the washington monument. they got trapped in the elevator last night nearly 1500 feet above the ground. they were lowered to the ground safely. right now and we have 69 degrees up next we'll answer our question of the morning. plus angie tells us about any traffic problems out there and olga will have the seven day forecast when 9news now returns. i'm a dancer. and until now, my feet showed it.

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wore back with the answer of the morning to the question -- >> surprisingly, the answer is b., the partner aging better than they. how about that? >> that doesn't seem rational. now to olga, making sense of the forecast. >> well, the forecast is definitely looking great. we're going to be warm today as temperatures get into the upper 80s and even hotter still for the weekend. push the low to mid- 90s by sunday afternoon. isolated shower or thunderstorm possible for the fourth of july. thank you olga. checking out the traffic on the outer loop. it is slow from 95 to georgia. sun glare is going to be an issue here. to the american legion bridge, nice right here, everyone is moving at speed as we switch the camera on over. 495 in virginia is below speed

from brad dock road to 50 and now back to you outside. all right, "the early show" is next. but don't the guys sound great and we want to hear more from the stax music academy from memphis. >> you can catch them at 11:00 this morning at the smithsonian folk life festival at the national mall. we'll see you monday at 4:25. have a great weekend and a great fourth of july. go! ♪ [ captions by: caption colorado, llc 800-775-7838 email: comments@captioncolorado.com ]